The present invention relates to a broadcasting system, broadcasting apparatus, broadcasting method, and receiving apparatus which are used for digital broadcasting and, more particularly, to a broadcasting system, broadcasting apparatus, broadcasting method, and receiving apparatus which can limit the use of a broadcast program when precondition information in the broadcast program is cut on the viewer side.
In general, a broadcasting station such as a terrestrial broadcasting station transmits a broadcast program that is viewable for free and inserts a pre-provided commercial midway along the broadcast program to obtain a program production cost or the like from a commercial provider which provides the commercial. More specifically, the broadcast program is transmitted for free by the broadcasting station in cooperation with the commercial provider. Note that an important precondition for free broadcasting is to viewing the broadcast program with a commercial.
In other words, a commercial cut phenomenon, i.e., viewing a broadcast program while cutting commercials, will break the above important precondition. Note that commercial cut phenomenon includes, for example, a case wherein a viewer switches to another channel during a commercial break and a case wherein a viewer records/plays back a program on a video recorder while cutting commercials by using the commercial cut function incorporated in the recorder.
The commercial cut phenomenon based on viewer's own operation at the time of viewing requires cumbersome operation on the viewer side, and hence may pose no serious problem.
A shift from analog broadcasting to digital broadcasting, however, will technically facilitate distinguishing broadcast programs and commercials and cutting the commercials. The commercial cut function will proliferate on devices on the viewer side at a high possibility.
Hard disk recorders for recording digital broadcasts have commercial cut functions and are expected to come in wide use in the future.
The commercial cut function of such a device will break the important precondition for free broadcasting, i.e., that commercials are viewed. It therefore should be preferable for the broadcasting station side or commercial provider side to inhibit such a commercial cut function.
Likewise, a prize contest program is known, in which a quiz that can be answered by any viewer who has viewed a broadcast program is offered at the end of the program, and the answer is used as an entry requirement for a prize.
It is an important precondition for such a type of prize content program that viewers of the program enter the prize contest. From the viewpoint of encouraging viewers to enter the prize content, it is undesirable to offer a difficult quiz. For this reason, some contestants make answers by viewing only a portion associated with a quiz entry without viewing the main program, or a given viewer can enter a prize contest by hearing an answer from another viewer without viewing the program by himself/herself.
In both the commercial cut function and prize contest program case, it is possible for a viewer, regardless of whether he/she has viewed the broadcast main program, to gain the same profit as that gained when he/she has viewed the main program. However, it may be preferable for the broadcasting side to prevent such a thing.